Pere Créiams

PERE CRÉIXAMS PICÓ (Barcelona, 1893–1965).
“The Burial of the Sardines.”
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 60 x 73 cm.

The bustle of the popular festival takes center stage in this composition, in which Pere Créixams displays a figurative style of marked expressive intensity. The subject ties in with his interest in ordinary people, musicians, and group scenes—subjects that allow him to explore the characters’ personalities through their faces and postures. This human universe is also present in works such as “Group of Gypsies” and “Dance Lesson,” held in the collection of the National Art Museum of Catalonia.

A self-taught painter, Créixams began his career as a cabinetmaker and typographer. In 1918, he traveled to Paris and, after becoming immersed in the artistic scene of Montmartre, decided to devote himself to painting. In the French capital, he was part of the School of Paris and exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants (1922), the Salon d’Automne (1925), and the Tuileries. He also illustrated works by Rimbaud, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Max Jacob, and Cocteau. He returned to Barcelona in 1927 and participated in the last exhibition of the Evolutionists. In 1936, he resettled in Paris but continued to exhibit regularly in Barcelona. Influenced by Nonell, his favorite subject was always the human figure. Pere Créixams Picó’s work is currently represented at MACBA, the Petit Palais in Geneva, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, and other European and American museums.